Impact Journey with Julia

In the last episode, our mentor Miki Kashtan took us through some harsh - and needed - perspectives on privilege and how to work with it. Now, we take a moment to process it together.

This podcast is part of a series called Confronting Complicity in Capitalism .  As Elena and I come toward the end of this phase of confronting our complicity in capitalism, there is one loop we keep getting stuck in - shame, specifically the shame of privilege. And there is one person we wanted to speak to, a mentor of ours: Miki Kashtan.  Miki is the seed founder of the Nonviolent Global Liberat...

Is it my job to make sure a collaborator is financially comfortable? This week, I got a verbal smackdown about my privilege. Instead of fighting (how dare you) or giving in (fine I’ll just pay for everything), I explore with Elena our responsibility to others when we’re entangled. In week 11 of confronting complicity in capitalism, we come upon the reality that changing how we do money is a relati...

I just hosted a post-capitalist birthday party with my neighbors. Elena just returned from a local Burning Man event.  In week 10 of confronting complicity in capitalism, both of us are in awe of the ABUNDANCE that emerges when we gather with dear ones… not just to have fun and celebrate… but to do life together, in interdependence rather than individualism / transaction / accumulation. So it’s no...

This podcast is part of a new series called Confronting Complicity in Capitalism .  Our second special guest in the series helps us build the spiritual ground for this tricky work of confronting complicity in capitalism. Erin Selover is a ‘spiritual strategist’ who connects decades of Buddhist practice and teaching with nonviolence and collective liberation. She helps me put words to why my time i...

What is ‘work’? Is it the thing that gives me money? Or the thing I spend time and energy on? And what if those two were … separate? In week 8 of Confronting Complicity in Capitalism, Elena and I unpack and repack ‘work.’ It turns out there are MANY ways to do ‘work.’ For anyone aware of ‘relationship anarchy,’ this may sound familiar. Just like there are more ways to have a relationship than “tra...

“I made my bed… Do I need to lie in it? Or can I make a different bed?” In Week 6 of our inquiry to confront complicity in capitalism, we explore CHOICE, especially the places in work and money where it feels like the choice is all-or-nothing: full financial independence not relying on anyone, or complete merging of finances; everything separate or everything in common.  We refuse to believe that…...

“When I accumulate, resources don’t flow.” In Week 5 of our inquiry to confront complicity in capitalism, we reconnect to FLOW – how this inquiry flows beneath the surface even when life happens, how we are complicit in not flowing resources where we really want, how we can be choice-ful in how we live and work and spend. This week, we dive into: Life happens. This conscious inquiry in the forefro...

Could I ever give away everything I’ve earned or inherited? What leads someone to make that choice? In week 3 of Confronting Complicity in Capitalism, we take in the wisdom of someone who’s been doing this work — for herself, with her family, with others with privilege — much longer: Morgan Curtis at Solidaire Network . I interviewed Morgan on this podcast , where she shares what led her to questi...

This podcast is part of a new series called Confronting Complicity in Capitalism .  I cannot think of a better first special guest on this series as we confront our privilege: Morgan Curtis, who supports people with wealth and class privilege toward redistribution and repair, starting with herself. THE IMPACT. Morgan Curtis : Supports people with wealth and class privilege toward redistribution, a...

Confronting Complicity in Capitalism, Week 2: Stories We Tell Week 2 of our experiment – and this week, we are physically in the same place!  Which means… lots of rich inquiry into the stories that have been keeping us stuck in traditional patterns of money and privilege.  We notice how many of our stories are false binaries: Spending less is better … yet accumulation is problematic Accumulation g...

This is part of a new series called Confronting Complicity in Capitalism . This special series is a season of experiment to really look at money and privilege with care & joy rather than shame & blame. Our experiment has begun, and our first step is seeing clearly the privilege that makes our lives possible. We start by taking honest inventory of what we have and where it comes from — divi...

This podcast is part of a new series called Confronting Complicity in Capitalism .  This special series is a season of experiment to really look at money and privilege with care & joy rather than shame & blame. On this first episode, I will share what this series is, and why it feels relevant now. In future episodes, you’ll hear me and my colleague Elena working through this week by week. ...

In the latest episode of The Money Reckoning series, I speak with a next-gen wealth holder about the uncomfortable journey of questioning privilege and purpose. THE IMPACT. Patrick Knodel: Is the founder of impact investing fund Innovation for Impact Is the CEO of the philanthropic Chancemaker Foundation THE JOURNEY. In our conversation, we explore: Working for purpose and not for money. "I w...

This podcast is part of the Money Reckoning series. THE IMPACT. Kazu Haga : Is a trainer, educator, student and practitioner with over 25 years of experience in nonviolence and restorative justice.  Weaves in lessons from decades of Buddhist practice and trauma healing work to advance social change and collective healing.  Is a core member of the Fierce Vulnerability Network , a founding member of...

I have been writing The Money Reckoning blog, untangling money at work, following a groundbreaking team change how they pay themselves. I didn’t expect that I’d be tested. I was recently asked to “value my time.”  I've been questioning transactional vs gift nonviolent approaches. Before, I would have responded with a rate. Now, here’s a chance to actually try something different . But what, an...

THE IMPACT . Elspeth Jones: - Is a non-profit leader, advisor and coach at the intersection of law, leadership and environmental and social impact. - Was born and grew up Wales, is a Welsh speaker, and now lives in Wales with her family, where she enjoys going on adventures and exploring the outdoors. - Initially practiced as a barrister in London and in law firms in Ghana, Hong Kong and Shanghai....

I recently completed a 3-day training with Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project , where 1000 people came together to train and mobilize toward a net zero future. I didn’t quite know what to expect, but two things stand out: 1) being faced with all the facts is intense and overwhelming, there’s no shortage of data on the challenges or on the solutions; 2) to process the intense overwhelm, we need spac...

I’ve noticed that activism is having a moment in places I was not used to seeing it - inside companies. Back in my corporate days, I kept your head down and did my activism at home. Serial rebel Tessa Wernink has been shaking things up since co-founding Fairphone. I met her in her new role at The Undercover Activist. We get deep into employee activism: the dissonance about staying in a job and sta...

What do you get when you cross a bestselling novelist with a masters in regenerative economics and a healthy dose of shamanic practice? This fascinating conversation with the brilliant Manda Scott, creator of Accidental Gods and the Thrutopia Masterclass. THE IMPACT. Manda Scott: - Has been, variously, a veterinary surgeon, veterinary anaesthetist, acupuncturist (people and animals), crime writer,...

For any of us working in sustainability, land guardianship is crucial to climate action. Yet the ways to support stewards of the land - Indigenous peoples and local communities - are not obvious. I learned so much from Nonette Royo from the Tenure Facility: she grew up seeing violence and land grabs in her home in the Philippines, and became a human rights lawyer to protect the protectors of land....

What did it take to start a first-of-its-kind sustainable business section at The Guardian? And why leave the big city life to live in a monastic community? Journalist Jo Confino describes his journey from covering finance and business to the next frontier in this time of crisis: mindfulness, compassion, feeling our suffering. As the podcast Jo hosts says: the way out is in.   THE IMPACT. Jo...

Since I've joined the board of Action Against Hunger, I've been on a learning journey. How big of a deal is the global food crisis? Why hasn't it been solved? What can we do about global hunger? Of course, my preferred way to learn is to call up experts and together explore tough questions on the podcast. THE IMPACT. - Cathryn Dhanatya , PhD, works at the intersection of health and research and ad...

In my attempts to connect with people on some of our most important issues like climate change, I have been missing a huge pathway - faith. These issues need hard conversations, and hard conversations need us to tap into more than facts and fears. My conversation with Dekila opens the door to bringing the sacred back into science. THE IMPACT. Dekila Chungyalpa: - is the founder and director of the...

THE IMPACT. Dr. Rita Sambruna : - Is an astrophysicist working on black holes in galaxies, and the Deputy Director of the Astrophysics Division at NASA 's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland . She was awarded the NASA Extraordinary Achievement Medal in 2019 for her work at NASA and service to the profession. - At Goddard, she Leads the DEIA (diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility) activit...